Daily summary: indices return to declines, Gold gains 1.30% 📌📄

The U.S. stock market extends declines towards the end of the day. The U.S. dollar and cryptocurrencies are also losing value.

European indexes had a spectacular start to the week. Elevated sentiment regarding potential investments in the defense industry on the Old Continent led most markets to record substantial gains. The German DE40 broke to new all-time highs, gaining over 3% at its peak.

At the time of publication, US500 is down 0.80%, US100 is down 0.85%, and US2000 is trading 1.20% lower. Declines are particularly noticeable in the semiconductor sector. Nvidia (NVDA.US) is down nearly 6% to $115 per share.

The U.S. dollar is one of the weaker G10 currencies today. However, this is a result of its recent strong gains following several Trump announcements. The USD Index (USDIDX) is down 0.90%, while EUR/USD gains 0.80% to 1.04870.

Donald Trump has just announced that new tariffs on foreign agricultural products will take effect from April 2. U.S. agricultural products are to be sold within the U.S.

OIL.WTI drops 2.80% following the announcement that OPEC+ will increase production by 138,000 barrels per day starting in April. This comes as a surprise, as the market expected another delay after a similar move in December. In total, OPEC plans to gradually increase production by 2.2 million barrels per day until December 2026.

Gold rises 1.30% to $2,890 per ounce, decisively ending the recent short correction. Gold prices continue to be supported by geopolitical uncertainty and the unpredictability of Donald Trump's administration's decisions.

ISM Report for the U.S. Manufacturing Sector (February): Current: 50.3 Expected: 50.8 vs Previous: 50.9. A significant jump in the price index (62.4) is offset by weak readings in employment (47.6) and new orders (48.8).

Cryptocurrencies are experiencing a significant sell-off today, almost entirely erasing Sunday's gains caused by Trump's statement.

Bitcoin drops 7% to $87,600, Ethereum falls 12.40% to $2,200, while altcoins collectively decline by 9.00%.

The weekend rally was driven by Donald Trump's post, where he stated that BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA should be included in the U.S. strategic cryptocurrency reserves.